USC Hoops To Host Oklahoma St. Dec. 6th

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (USC SID) — Matchups have been announced for the 2014 SEC/Big 12 Challenge. South Carolina will host Oklahoma State at Colonial Life Arena on Dec. 6, as part of the event. All 10 of the Big 12’s teams and 10 of the SEC’s 14 member institutions will participate in this year’s event. “Once again it is great to be a part of the Challenge,” South Carolina head men’s basketball coach Frank Martin said. “The opportunity to represent the SEC is something we take tremendous pride in. It will be great for our program and fans to host a tradition rich program like Oklahoma State.” The meeting between the Gamecocks and Cowboys will be the third all-time between the two schools with the series tied at 1-1. South Carolina won the first matchup against Oklahoma State, a 70-61 decision in Columbia during the 1975-76 campaign, and the Cowboys evened the series last season in Stillwater, winning the Challenge contest, 79-52. Oklahoma State returns four players who started at least 10 games from last season’s squad, which posted a 21-13 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. South Carolina looks to build off of it’s stellar end to the 2013-14 campaign, when the Gamecocks won four of their final five games, including two victories in the SEC Tournament. Carolina returns rising sophomore guard Sindarius Thornwell, a 2014 SEC All-Freshman Team honoree, and senior guard Tyrone Johnson, who missed nearly all of the SEC campaign due to injury. “The ability to showcase SEC basketball in this kind of inter-conference competition makes this a unique and exciting event for our coaches, student-athletes and fans,” SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise all 10 games of the event. Each of the games will also be available via WatchESPN. Start times and network designations will be announced at a later date. 2014 SEC/Big 12 Challenge Schedule: Wednesday, December 3, 2014 Auburn at Texas Tech Thursday, December 4, 2014 Arkansas at Iowa State LSU at West Virginia Baylor at Vanderbilt TCU at Ole Miss Friday, December 5, 2014 Florida at Kansas Texas at Kentucky Missouri at Oklahoma Saturday, December 6, 2014 Oklahoma State at South Carolina Kansas State at Tennessee